The invention relates to a method for positioning and fixing beams with ground dowels and to an apparatus for implementing the method.
In the erection and positioning of beams or the like, for example in the construction of beam foundations for summerhouses or sheds, the problem always arises, in addition to the necessary horizontal or vertical alignment, of positioning the beam or beams used in their respective positions and also fixing them in those positions. Customarily, securing devices which can be anchored in the soil are used for fixing to the ground, these supporting the beam at their free upper end. The fixing of the beam to the securing device takes place after the securing device has been anchored in the soil, conventionally by the direct screwing, nailing or similar fixing of the positioned beam to the free upper end of the securing device. Direct fixing to the ground dowel has the disadvantage, when positioning or removing and when precisely aligning the beam, that, in each case, all fixing connections have to be made very accurately with a great expense of labor and time.
In practice, ground dowels that can be screwed into the soil in a corkscrew manner and on which the beam is directly fixed have proven their value; in principle, however, securing means that are anchored by being concreted in or driven in may also be used.
If, then, a beam is to be fixed in a desired position in the ground by means of a plurality of these ground dowels, it is necessary for the ground dowels, when anchored in the soil, to be aligned exactly at the desired height and in the desired position. Otherwise, the beam as a whole cannot be fixed in the predetermined position because of the possible positional inaccuracy of the individual ground dowels resulting from the positioning of the fixing securing members, defined before the ground dowel is driven in on the beam. During the driving-in operation, therefore, the position of each individual ground dowel has to be constantly rechecked and any deviation, for example resulting from stones in the soil or the like, subsequently corrected in order to ensure the fixing of the beam in the defined position. Even a slight deviation in the position of a ground dowel can only be corrected by altering the positioning of the corresponding ground dowel. This may, however, result in the loosening of the ground dowel in the soil.
Additional, movable positioning devices as inserts between beam and ground dowel are admittedly known from the prior art, but their design is elaborate and costly: in addition, even if these devices are used, positioning has to take place individually at each ground dowel.
The same applicant""s WO 97/08409 has disclosed an apparatus for the vertical arrangement of an object in the shape of a pillar or pole. In this case, the object and the shape of a pillar or pole is provided with a receiving hole which can be pushed over a retaining mandrel of a securing device, especially a ground dowel, in the ground and so fixed. The retaining mandrel can be pressed into the object. As a result of axial play between the retaining mandrel and the receiving hole, vertical and, in principle, horizontal positioning of the object are possible.
The apparatus according to WO 97/08409 has proven its value in practice; even so, it suffers from the disadvantages that, first, the securing devices in the ground require specially molded-on retaining mandrels and, secondly, the objects in pole or post form have to be provided with corresponding receiving holes. This restricts the flexibility of the device in use, because of the necessary preliminary work on the objects to be fixed, and entails additional costs, especially since no securing devices in the ground with standardized receiving sections can be used.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cost-effective and simple device and a secure and rapid method of positioning and fixing beams which permit positional deviations of the ground dowels within certain limits and nevertheless enable exact positioning without preliminary work and with a low level of effort to position the individual ground dowels.
This object is achieved, according to the invention, by a method having the features according to claim 1 and by an apparatus having the features according to claim 5.
Advantageous further developments are defined in the respective dependent claims.
The method according to the invention offers the advantage that, when a ground dowel to be set to the desired height is placed at the desired position, the positioning of the ground dowel need not, as is customary, be exact in order to achieve exact positioning of a beam. Rather, the exact positioning takes place in the second stage of the method according to the invention as a result of the pressing of the beam into the desired exact position and alignment with a suitable retaining means of a ground dowel insert part, which is inserted into a retaining section of the ground dowel. The positioning of the retaining means relative to the pressed-on beam determines exactly the desired position of the beam as a whole relative to the ground dowel insert part inserted into the retaining section. After the beam is pressed on, the ground dowel insert part adheres permanently thereto. The ground dowel insert part can then be fixed on the beam in accordance with the positioning defined by the pressed-on retaining means. The vertical and/or horizontal position and alignment of the beam is thus defined when the positioned ground dowel insert part is inserted into the retaining section of the ground dowel, without elaborate changes and adjustments of the position of the ground dowel itself having to be undertaken. Also, as a result of the method according to the invention, no elaborate additional positioning devices are necessary between the ground dowel and the ground dowel insert part or between the ground dowel insert part and the beam, since the position of the beam is defined in a simple manner, essentially by it being pushed onto the retaining means.
In a preferred embodiment, the ground dowel insert part, fixed on the beam and inserted into the retaining section of the ground dowel, is additionally fixed in the retaining section of the ground dowel, as a result of which the beam can be secured particularly quickly, simply and securely on the ground dowel, so that, for example, the erection and dismantling of, for example, a temporary beam foundation can take place rapidly.
Preferably, the ground dowel insert part can be fixed on the beam by screwing, in the method according to the invention, which results in particularly secure fixing.
In a further embodiment, the defining of the positioning and/or the fixing of the ground dowel insert part on the beam can also be undertaken by adhesive bonding, which enables a particularly simple and rapid operation.
As a result of a baseplate of the ground dowel insert with a retaining means attached thereto, the apparatus according to the invention for the positioning and fixing of beams has the advantage, by comparison with the prior art, that the position of the beam is fixed in a simple manner in that, after being pressed on, the retaining means fixed on the baseplate of the ground dowel insert part adheres at least to the beam. No complicated and hence costly conventional positioning devices are needed in order to correct deviations of the positioned ground dowel from the exactly desired position.
Also, in the positioning of the beam on a plurality of ground dowels, such as for example in the alignment of a beam foundation, by the corresponding pressing of the beam onto the retaining means of the respective baseplates of all ground dowel insert parts, the problem does not arise that all ground dowels have to be individually exactly positioned. Therefore, the exact position of the beam is reliably defined by the retaining means of the ground dowel insert parts positioned in the retaining sections of the ground dowels and adhering to the beam or connected to the beam.
The arrangement of the retaining means on a baseplate of a ground dowel insert part that can be received in a standardized retaining section of a ground dowel increases the flexibility of use of the ground dowels and makes them cheaper to produce, since no ground dowels with special retaining devices for receiving beams are needed.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the retaining means consist of at least one positioning mandrel, which, by pressing on the beam, connects the ground dowel insert part to the beam in accordance with the desired position of the beam in a defined position and, as a result, fixes it at least by adhesion. This permits the particularly reliable and rapid definition of the positioning of the beam merely by pressing it on. As a result of the mandrel-like design, also, no preliminary work on the beam is necessary, which increases the flexibility and possible uses of the apparatus.
The positioning mandrel may be arranged as an individual molding, in particular at the center of the baseplate. However, it is also possible for a plurality of positioning mandrels to be arranged on the baseplate.
A particularly preferred embodiment is one in which at least two sections of the baseplate itself are curved out from the baseplate as positioning mandrels. The position and shape of these sections can, for example, be determined by punching out or cutting out, preferably at two corner or edge regions of the baseplate. Preferably, the regions in question are two diagonally opposite corner regions. Finishing work on the positioning mandrel that can be obtained in this manner may also be necessary, in addition to punching out the shape and bending it out, for example in the form of deburring or grinding to size.
As a result of this embodiment, the production costs are reduced, because no special molding has to be arranged on the baseplate as a positioning mandrel. In general, particularly secure positioning is achieved by means of two or more positioning mandrels.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, the retaining means is designed as an adhesive surface which, as a result of pressing-on of the beam, fixes the ground dowel insert part at least adhesively in a fixed position on the beam in accordance with the desired position of the beam. As a result, particularly simple and even faster positioning is possible. The necessary contact pressure forces can be reduced. In addition, the opportunity is presented not only of using the contact pressure to define the positioning by means of adhesion but also of using adhesive bonding to fix the ground dowel insert part on the beam. This permits a particularly rapid and labor-saving procedure as a result of simultaneous positioning and fixing, without having to remove the beam for fixing purposes.
In an advantageous embodiment, the baseplate may be provided, for the particularly secure fixing of the ground dowel insert part on the beam, with at least one aperture for receiving securing elements for fixing the beam on the ground dowel insert part.
The apertures here may be arranged substantially in a square in the edge regions of the baseplate in order to permit particularly secure fixing.
However, other arrangements with a central aperture in the baseplate are also possible. In addition, preferably, two further apertures may also be provided in the edge regions, the security of the fixing being additionally increased thereby and, at the same time, greater flexibility being provided, for example when fixing beams of relatively small cross section.
Advantageously, the ground dowel insert part is received in the retaining section of the ground dowel by means of a shank-like section, so that it is positioned in the retaining section with axial fixing and securely.
The shank-like section is preferably cylindrically molded, with an external diameter that substantially corresponds to the internal diameter of the retaining section of the ground dowel, so that the receiving of the shank-like section in the retaining section of the ground dowel, which fixes the axial position, is possible in a particularly reliable manner.
The shank-like section can also, preferably, be molded so that the external diameter of the cylindrical section is substantially less than the internal diameter of the retaining section of the ground dowel and the shank-like section widens at its free end, in the manner of a collar, substantially up to the internal diameter of the retaining section. As a result, first, the shank-like section is fixed in its axial position when inserted into the retaining section of the ground dowel by the collar-shaped diametral widening. Secondly, the shank-like section, as a result of its lesser external diameter, additionally serves to be receivable in a tilted position in the retaining section. This offers additional flexibility, particularly with the vertical but also with the horizontal alignment and positioning of beams while substantially retaining the fixing of the axial position of the ground dowel insert part in the retaining section of the ground dowel.
Fixing of the shank-like section of the ground dowel insert part in the retaining section of the ground dowel by means of a set-screw is particularly advantageous, as in this way particularly secure and strong fixing of the beam and of the ground dowel insert part attached thereto on the ground dowel is possible.
The invention will be explained in detail below with reference to an example of embodiment and to the attached drawings.